I strongly disagree with the closure of the great movie ride and the new direction of Hollywood Studios

[Goofyernmost]

Well got news for you bud my 6 year old daughter was very disappointed, she thought the ride was very cool.

I'm not sure what that has to do with what I said. It is pretty easy to entertain a 7 year old so I don't doubt for a minute that she would have really liked it. I'm 70 and I still enjoyed it, but, it had long since stopped taking my breath away. I went for nostalgia. I think you might have misread what I said... I didn't say my daughter was 7 when she expressed it as lame. What I said was that now she is 7 years older then I was when I first saw the inside of WDW (35). At that age (42) I was still stary-eyed about Disney (all of it).

 

[Fox&Hound]

A lot of people keep saying how Mickey should have been a new build, and while that would have been nice it would mean that even if they started now it would have opened a long time after Star Wars. I think the plan was to open something big at the same time as SW and thus spread out crowds. You have to agree that a new Mickey ride will bring in crowds GMR has not seen in a long time. I am not defending their choice but merely pointing out their rationale. Oh- and it saves money.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

A lot of people keep saying how Mickey should have been a new build, and while that would have been nice it would mean that even if they started now it would have opened a long time after Star Wars. I think the plan was to open something big at the same time as SW and thus spread out crowds. You have to agree that a new Mickey ride will bring in crowds GMR has not seen in a long time. I am not defending their choice but merely pointing out their rationale. Oh- and it saves money.

I agree. For once, I don't think this is a money decision. #1) The theme of DHS is changing, so the Great Movie Ride is out. #2) The GMR practically never had a wait - even during peak times. The last time I had a completely full car for that attraction was almost twenty years ago. Customers have voted with their feet, and GMR is OUT.

 

[spock8113]

Hannah, I do agree but unfortunately the new management has other ideas to attract millennials since people like me who are baby-boomers are becoming passe. I will honestly say that I've never seen a Busby Berkley film and the older films are being shown less and less.
You can see the hangover Trilogy any day of the week yet I can't remember the last time an Abbott & Costello movie aired.
I'm sure my parents were upset when Benny Goodman was replaced by the Beatles and now the Beatles are replaced by U2.
It's the age-old proverb that time stops for no one. King George would have liked a different outcome.
I will miss the Great Movie Ride but I really don't know what's going to exactly replace it. It may be good, unlike the "new" Figment.
I would certainly argue that the new management has lost their way with regard to Walt Disney's vision of D'Land and D'World,
but like many other things that start out as a great idea, they morph into capitalist ventures where the original idea is lost, just like the rides they "update."
I believe there are too many ventures in the Disney Corporations portfolio, but acquiring them is to make more money, the bottom line.
Just ask Mr. Guder.

 

[smile]

I agree. For once, I don't think this is a money decision. #1) The theme of DHS is changing, so the Great Movie Ride is out. #2) The GMR practically never had a wait - even during peak times. The last time I had a completely full car for that attraction was almost twenty years ago. Customers have voted with their feet, and GMR is OUT.

allowing attractions no longer wanted... for reasons... to deteriorate could long be considered sop at this point

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

allowing attractions no longer wanted... for reasons... to deteriorate could long be considered sop at this point

Sorry but, what?

 

[smile]

Sorry but, what?

gmr could have been better maintained, kept current, and made wonderful again
- but that was not the chosen course for various reasons... by now, it's a rather familiar move, especially at wdw.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

gmr could have been better maintained, kept current, and made wonderful again
- but that was not the chosen course for various reasons... by now, it's a rather familiar move, especially at wdw.

I assume that they didn't give it a remake because they knew that it was going away. With the change in theme of the place, it was inevitable.

 

[DarthVader]

Moral of the story - DON'T FIX WHAT'S NOT BROKEN guys

I'd say as a whole, HS was broken, and needed to be revamped to bring a cohesive experience, yet with that said. I think it was a major mistake by Disney to close the great movie ride. Even my kids loved the experience. I know it wasn't a thrill ride, or one that had animations or other high tech visualizations, but it was a fun run.

I'm happy to see Disney working on their parks trying to improve them, but in this case, I'm saddened to see this ride close.

 

[graphite1326]

I agree. For once, I don't think this is a money decision. #1) The theme of DHS is changing, so the Great Movie Ride is out. #2) The GMR practically never had a wait - even during peak times. The last time I had a completely full car for that attraction was almost twenty years ago. Customers have voted with their feet, and GMR is OUT.

The last time I went which was 2016 in October. That's off peak season. The line was out the door and out along the side quite a ways. The sign said a 45 min wait but it ended up more like an hour. This was one of my favorite rides even though it needed repair and updated.

 

[DarthVader]

The GMR practically never had a wait - even during peak times.

Maybe we visited the park at different times, but I've seen huge lines, and always had a full car.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Maybe we visited the park at different times, but I've seen huge lines, and always had a full car.

Crazy. Must have.

I'll miss GMR - and the whole theme of the place. Really, I wonder what made The Mouse decide years ago that the "studio" theme wasn't working. You know, back when it WAS working...

 

[wdisney9000]

The last time I had a completely full car for that attraction was almost twenty years ago.

Twenty years ago? The ride opened 28 years ago. You are saying that 8 years after it opened, it did not have full cars? False.

Customers have voted with their feet, and GMR is OUT

Where do you come up with this stuff? You are saying the decision to close GMR was due to lack of interest by customers? smh. Is that why they closed Journey Into Imagination.....oh wait

 

[21stamps]

I liked the old Hollywood theme and can’t stand Star Wars, so when they started putting Star Wars practically everywhere there and took out things I liked, the park became skippable for me. Toy Story kiddie rides, more Star Wars, and a Mickey Mouse (overrated character) ride will not attract me to the park. Franchises they have in that park that I like (Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, Muppets), have horrible attractions to represent them and need serious updating, but they will probably just bury them under the ground in favor of something Marvel or Star Wars because they don’t know how to update their stale shows.

I am not from the age of all those older movies, but The Great Movie Ride gave me an appreciation for some of the old great movies where they didn’t solely rely on CGI and special effects. Apparently the children today need constant stimulation and thrills or they can’t focus.

Those crazy kids, what’s wrong with them?! And what’s wrong with the decision makers?!
Imagine a company deciding to build something that’s relevant and popular today to drive the kids and parents to the park.

So foolish. I think it’s all going to flop.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Hannah, I do agree but unfortunately the new management has other ideas to attract millennials since people like me who are baby-boomers are becoming passe. I will honestly say that I've never seen a Busby Berkley film and the older films are being shown less and less.
You can see the hangover Trilogy any day of the week yet I can't remember the last time an Abbott & Costello movie aired.
I'm sure my parents were upset when Benny Goodman was replaced by the Beatles and now the Beatles are replaced by U2.
It's the age-old proverb that time stops for no one. King George would have liked a different outcome.
I will miss the Great Movie Ride but I really don't know what's going to exactly replace it. It may be good, unlike the "new" Figment.
I would certainly argue that the new management has lost their way with regard to Walt Disney's vision of D'Land and D'World,
but like many other things that start out as a great idea, they morph into capitalist ventures where the original idea is lost, just like the rides they "update."
I believe there are too many ventures in the Disney Corporations portfolio, but acquiring them is to make more money, the bottom line.
Just ask Mr. Guder.

The sad truth, being one myself, is that the baby boomers are on the edge of being more then passe' we are right their very near to passed-away. We still have money, but, we have all slowed down quite a lot. Our enjoyment is more focused on nostalgia then future. If Disney had any brains at all, which apparently they do, they set up for the future and realize that our time has passed. I like to think that I can flex and enjoy new things, but, I can still miss the old stuff with the best of them, however, I realize that decisions are no longer wrapped around our memories. Those are being rejected just like we rejected what our parents thought was the cats meow!

 

[LaughingGravy]

Kind of related, DD has a class in high school now in movie appreciation. She has indeed been schooled on many classics by us, but the class has not done any movies more than 10 years old, with the exception of Hitchcocks' "Psycho".
It's really sad.

 

[LaughingGravy]

I understand that things need to be updated or replaced to keep interest, especially in this day and age. Not saying I agree with every decision, just that I understand it.

The thing that upsets me the most about this is how Disney gives such a short notice. Maybe enough notice so that fans can come see it for a last time without having to drop everything and rush down would be nice and show a little fan respect. Those people, (decision makers at Disney) only gave just over a month for Flights of Wonder, luckily we were there in December to see it a few times and I actually was picked to have the raven steal the money from my hand. Yes, I know, I will be signing autographs later.

That's a good point! If I knew something beloved was going to be shutting down next year, I know myself, and I know I would somehow manage to get down for another trip. But seriously, a year's notice is required in order to save up to see it one last time, obviously depending on what it is.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I think baby boomers are having fuller, longer, richer lives than previous generations. 70 is the new 50! There are fewer expectations for people to hang it up in their golden years. I don't think their time has passed (and my mother would sure take umbrage at the thought!). You'll probably say I'm missing the point, but I think there is room for nostalgia AND progress. After all, that's what Disney World is all about. Nostalgia and the promise of the future.

And it still has nostalgia along with the good old promise of the future, but, today's promise is tomorrows nostalgia. It doesn't matter if 70 is the new 50 because they have yet to figure out how to prevent death and eventually something will get us all. I am 70 this year as well and I don't sit quietly in my rocker (don't even own one) and wait for the grim reaper, but, add 20 years to that 70 and all of a sudden today's 90 becomes today's 90's. When they build today they have to look at it being still around 20 years from now. We won't be or at least not in large park dwelling numbers so the parks will be for younger people and it has to appeal to them not to us. Like it or not. Time waits for no man. Today's money is tomorrows inheritance and if Disney wants a piece of that they have to be appealing to the generations behind us.

Remember that 30 years ago no one would have even considered that going to a theme park would be physically possible at 70 years old. When my grandparents were 70 they were old, damn old. When they exhaled you could see dust. That isn't true today, but, there is an end when you reach the new 50's you are only 20 years away from the new 70's which, like in the past will be a long way down the other side of that hill.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Twenty years ago? The ride opened 28 years ago. You are saying that 8 years after it opened, it did not have full cars? False.

Where do you come up with this stuff? You are saying the decision to close GMR was due to lack of interest by customers? smh. Is that why they closed Journey Into Imagination.....oh wait

It seems that we are developing a beautiful online relationship... ;-)

Pardon me for speaking in round numbers: maybe exactly 20 years ago the crowds were still showing up for GMR, but not long after that they were beginning to drop off, and for the past 10-15 years (at least) the place has been limping along. Disney noticed it, so they pulled the cast members and changed the effects inside - probably knowing the ride's days were numbered.

Funny that you bring up Imagination - it's a very similar case. It was dated and weird and lost its appeal to the masses so they changed it. Maybe they were hoping to make it better, but they made it worse. Does anyone ride it anymore? Is it even open? That ride should be bulldozed.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Under your direction, I'm sure Main Street U.S.A. would have never made it into the park. Let's tear it down because kids just don't care about Meet Me in St. Louis anymore! It appealed to me as a child because it is timeless. Let's also let Adventureland go, how many kids give a damn about Disney's True-Life Adventures or The African Queen. Dr. Livingston, I presume? Pirates? How many pirates movies failed for twenty years? It's a small world? Creepy dolls? No, beloved dolls on a much-parodied but also much beloved attraction.

If anything is happening at MGM Studios (sorry, never gonna change that), it's because it was always a slap-dash affair. It's had an identity crisis since day one. But I would not apply that same rationale across the board. Tomorrowland has had a lot of changes - yep, because it's also had an identity crisis. Same with Future World. Anything dependent on "tomorrow" is going to change.

I just had a talk with my father about all of this. He's in his 80s, if you want to play the age game. He's still teaching middle schoolers three days at week in one of New York's roughest neighborhoods. He said that he feels so liberated to do what his father's generation could not -- and that working/staying active has kept him young. And he has buddies from the airforce who have also kept in good stead like him. He's been fortunate enough to be taken seriously, at his age, when other generations were told to go home and develop a hobby. So, if you think 20 years from now is a factor in wondering what's right for you for the right now... should my father make it to 100, I'm sure he'll still be rocking out.

The only reason I brought up age is because you brought up the death of baby boomers. Well, Walt's been dead now for what, 50 years and change? I think they've done a pretty good job keeping things going without him - while maintaining the central dogma of the company which is, again, nostalgia and progress. The intoxicating drug of the America that never really was isn't going anywhere.

That is a whole lot of babbling going on there. I never said a word about all things being torn out or never put there for any reason, but, things change or they die off. If something needs to be changed it should be and that is the extent of my thoughts on the matter.

You have, however, brought up an interesting thing though that explains a lot. The statement "MGM Studios (sorry, never gonna change that)" is indicative of a mindset that cannot and will not accept change of any kind. They changed the name, it isn't Disney/MGM anymore and continuing to call it that is the same type of thing as what gets so many upset when they hear someone call the Magic Kingdom, Disney World instead of Magic Kingdom. Or EPCOT Ctr. instead of just Epcot. At that point, you will not accept a simple change to a name for some reason that I will never understand. It's about to change again, probably, so you are going to be two simple name changes behind the rest of the world, and for what reason? Is it some badge of honor to refuse to let the past go and just reject anything new out of hand? Things change for a lot of reasons. Many women when they get married change their last name to that of thier husbands. Would you continue to call them by their maiden name because that is what you knew them as when they were single? It just makes no sense at all to me.

I have posted more then once about how long ago Walt passed away and how long the Disney Parks have ridden along on he coattails of reputation. It has gotten to the point where fewer and fewer people have any idea who Walt Disney was and as a couple more generations become established there will be a lot more. His ideas were exactly the opposite of what you are saying should happen. He never thought of Disneyland as a museum. He stated more then once that it would change constantly. There are a lot of things currently in both Disneyland and WDW that are there strictly as a monument to the memory of Walt Disney. Chances are pretty good that most of them would be dust by now had Walt still existed.

I'm glad your Dad is healthy (mine died at 74) and able to still contribute to the world around him. Still kicking at 100, I hope so for his sake, but, the chances of that are really slim and we all have to accept our mortality at some point in time. So my good wishes go to him and hope he is still going strong at 120, but, I don't think that is the fate of most of mankind.